


Poe and Finn go to Macaroni Grill

by happybeans



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, Fluff, It's not crack I swear?, M/M, Wholesome Fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:40:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22121950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happybeans/pseuds/happybeans
Summary: Poe and Finn go on a first date to the Macaroni Grill. Fluff ensues.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	Poe and Finn go to Macaroni Grill

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, don’t ask me if this exists in the Star Wars universe or in AU. Even I don’t know. This was inspired by this video (https://youtu.be/jehMXPadHS0) where the lady asks Oscar Isaac where Finn would take him on a date. Thanks to Yusha for helping me find it!

Oh, dear Force. This is it. This is it.

The hostess passes him a menu, and Poe nods his thanks. He opens it. Closes it then sets it down. Picks it back up and inspects the cover—nice, very nice—then lays it back on the table.

He clears his throat, looking around the room to his left then jolts when he hears a voice to his right.

“Good evening. I’m Kanel; I’ll be your server tonight.” Poe tries to subtly look towards the door. “I understand we’re still waiting on one more?”

Poe’s eyes dart back to Kanel and he flashes a smile.

“Yup, one more’s coming.” He realizes the innuendo once it’s left his mouth, but Kanel, a seemingly weathered and hardened member of the waitstaff, forages on smoothly:

“Great. I’ll bring a couple of waters if you want to take a second to look over the drink menu?”

Poe spots it, nestled between the sugar packets and the salt and pepper shakers. He picks it up with a quick “thanks”, setting out to find a decent wine to go with their meal.

He looks back to the door, even though—he checks his watch and, yeah. He’s still twenty-minutes early.

Hiding his pinkened cheeks in the cocktail listing, he resolves to ask Kanel for her opinion on the wine when she comes back around. And if he tacks on a finger or two of Maker’s Mark, well. That’s his business.

Kanel helps him pick out a bottle of wine that sounds god, fruity and sweet, and Poe wishes Finn or Rey were here to appreciate the “just like me” joke he refrains from making. But then Kanel asks a question that makes him pause:

“Now, would you like to order an appetizer for the table, or would you prefer to wait?”

Believe it or not, that’s a tough one, and Poe requests a minute to puzzle it out.

On the one hand, the calamari immediately catches his eye, and he’s pretty sure it’s something Finn would like, too. But what if Finn’s not in the mood for seafood tonight? What if he would prefer the arancini, something a little fancier and more flavorful?

Or, kriff, maybe the brussel sprouts are the way to go. They don’t get nearly enough fresh greens back on base, and Poe knows Finn appreciates a well-rounded meal.

But actually, brussel sprouts might be a risky move; they’d been dancing around each other for the past few months until Poe finally got the guts to ask Finn out, and after that long, sexually-frustrating journey… Well, Poe’s feeling lucky.

Not to say that he thinks Finn is easy or puts out on the first date. It’s just that, well, Poe is hoping, let a man have his dreams, and the brussel sprouts might make them farty so—

“Sir, have you decided on anything yet, or would you prefer to wait?”

Poe lets out a breath then offers a smile to Kanel. “Yeah, you know, I think I’ll just wait until he gets here to decide.” It’s probably weird to order before he gets here anyway.

She nods as she sets down his bourbon, saying, “Sounds good. I’ll bring that wine out once your dinner-mate arrives. Just let me know if you need anything until then.”

He won’t, but he thanks her anyways, picking up his bourbon to take a sip. It’s good, and it helps to pull the shake out of his hands.

He checks his watch—still about ten-minutes until the time he told Finn to meet at—then ruffles at his hair, angling the watch to see if he can’t pick up his reflection.

He can’t.

He considers whether he should run to the bathroom to do one last look-over but stops himself.

Really, he doesn’t know why his nerves are running so high tonight. It’s not like this is his first-first date. Not even close.

It’s just that with Finn, everything’s so different.

Maybe this is what love is.

Oh, kriff. He downs the last of his bourbon, sending that thought to the bottle it belongs in.

Not long after that, Poe hears the door open across the room and his head whips around to see—

Oh. It’s just an older couple walking up to the hostess. But then, just as Poe’s about to let his breath drop, he notices the door still opened behind them and then Finn walks through and that breath freezes in his chest.

He hardly looks different than he normally does, in what looks like a black button-down and pants, but under the golden lighting, his skin glows, and Poe knows this was worth the wait.

Finn looks around the room, and when his eyes land on Poe, he grins, he grins like Poe is the sun, his sun, and in that moment, Poe thinks he might be.

He holds up a hand to wave Finn over, and Finn glides across the space like a fully-fitted X-wing piercing the sky.

Aaaand that’s enough from Poe’s brain for today.

He pushes out of his seat to greet Finn as he arrives, a quick hug and admiration of how nice Finn looks. 

“You look great, too,” Finn says, and Poe’s smile grows even wider. 

He ruffles his hair. “Yeah? Thanks, bud.” The friendly name slips out, but Finn’s easy smile doesn’t falter at it.

“No problem, pal,” he says with a wink. He looks down at his seat, and Poe seizes the opportunity to pull the chair out for him.

“What a gentleman,” Finn teases as he sits down, but Poe recognizes the pleased tint of his cheeks.

“I try,” Poe responds before taking his own seat. 

“It’s nice here,” Finn remarks, and Poe takes in the decor for the first time: stone walls and lowered lighting and soft piano playing in the corner, just loud enough to nearly cover the whishing of a waterfall wall beside the hostess’ desk.

“The waterfall’s a nice touch,” Poe adds, and Finn says:

“That’s what I was about to say!”

Poe laughs with him, playing with the index finger on his one hand. Once he realizes he’s doing it, he straightens both hands out on his lap.

Finn scoots his chair in a little more and pulls his water glass closer. 

“I’ll be honest,” he says, “I’m a little nervous about tonight. It’s my first date and I’m not sure how I’m supposed to act.”

Poe gives him a reassuring smile even though the idea of being Finn’s first anything makes his heart skip a beat.

“We’ll have to make it extra special, then,” he says. Then: “And don’t worry; just be yourself.”

Kanel chooses that moment to come up and reintroduce herself.

“Good evening. I’m Kanel, your server.” Finn gives her a smile just as genuine as any of his others. Poe supposes that’s one of the traits he admires most in Finn: he loves, and he loves freely. “Have you had a second to look over the menu? Would you like any appetizers to start with?”

Finn flips open his menu and scans the listing. Then he looks up to the Kanel and says: “The calamari sounds great.”

Oh, Poe loves him.

“That okay with you, Poe?”

“Sound great,” Poe repeats, and Finn orders it for them.

Kanel writes the order down then says, “I’ll have that out for you in a little bit, and I’ll be right back with your wine.”

“Wine,” Finn says. “Fancy, fancy. You weren’t waiting for long, were you?”

“Not at all,” Poe says, and it’s not really a lie, is it? The question is subjective. “And I’ve heard the wine is good. Sweet and fruity.”

“Oh, so like you.”

Poe laughs like clapping thunder, head tilted back.

The wine is delicious, and they clink their glasses together in cheers. 

“To great company,” Poe says.

“Hear, hear.”

They’re quiet for a few moments, sipping their wine. Then Finn says:

“You know, I was surprised you asked me here.” Poe hums. “I didn’t take you as one for restaurant chains.”

Poe laughs, swirling his wine. “Believe it or not, there was a lot of thought put into it. I thought we should go somewhere somewhat familiar.” He puts on a show of looking around before stage whispering: “I’m a little nervous, too.”

“Really?” Finn asks, setting down his glass. “You?”

Poe feels the heat entering his face but nods. Flipping back the subject, he says, “Next time we’ll for sure check out something local.”

“Next time,” Finn says smiling, and Poe realizes his mistake. 

“Assuming I don’t drive you away by the end of tonight,” he amends.

“You could never.”

They’ll see.

Poe takes a slow sip of his wine, focusing on letting the warm drag of it spread throughout him.

“So what does one talk about on a first date?” Finn asks.

“Usually general stuff; hobbies, favorite foods…”

“Well, we already know all of that.”

Poe smiles. “We skipped a step.”

“It seems we have.”

Poe takes a sip of his water, determined for this wine—and this night—to last as long as possible, and when he sets his glass down, the ice jingles around inside of it.

He looks at it for a second longer. Then he laughs. 

“What’s so funny?” Finn asks after the laughter goes on for a couple of seconds, and Poe has to take a breath to compose himself and explain.

“Haha, sorry, I—haha! You said this is your first date. Would you like to hear the tragedy of my first date?”

“Well, when you put it like that…”

Poe jumps right into it, excited that with Finn, nearly all of his old stories are fresh again.

“I was fourteen and had just started my pilot’s training. Officially, that is; my mother was a pilot—” Finn nods at this. “and I’d flown with her countless times by that point.” Poe picks up his wine to swirl it as he continues, with a smirk, “I also was going through my little badass phase at that time.”

“Did it ever really stop?” Finn quips, and Poe snorts. 

Shaking his head, he says, “That’s enough out of you.” Finn smirks, so, pleased that the joke was accepted for what it is, he carries on: “I met this girl back home, D’Janti, her name was, and I was sweet on her for ages before I finally worked up the nerve to ask her to go with me. And, of course, Little Poe thought it would be a great idea to borrow his mother’s spare wings to fly off-world for his date.”

Finn’s mouth pops open. “Oh, Poe, you didn’t.” Then he laughs, grin wide, and says, “Of course you would.”

Poe’s grinning, too, at this point. “So we get off-planet,” he forces out, “and D’Janti was obviously impressed. That is, until we got lost on the coldest planet I’ve been on in my life.”

“You didn’t have a map?”

“My mom had taken me to the cantina I was aiming for before. I thought I knew how to get there… I didn’t.”

Poe takes a sip of his wine.

“Sounds like a rough date,” Finn says, but Poe raises his eyebrows over his glass. “Unless… Don’t tell me it gets worse.”

Closing his eyes, Poe nods, still smirking at the memory that’s long-since turned funny.

“It was so cold, the controls of the old wing froze. We were stuck there freezing our asses off until my mom came to collect us. D’Janti didn’t talk to me the whole way home. And my mom… She wouldn’t let me hear the end of it. Scolded me right in front of my date.”

Finn sucks a breath in through his teeth. “Did you ever get a second date?”

Poe laughs. “Force. No, I didn’t.”

“Well, she missed out.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but… No. She didn’t. Fourteen-year-old me was the worst.”

“I feel like that’s how all adolescents are.”

“Sounds about right.”

They’re quiet for a couple of seconds. Then Finn says, “Back on Starkiller, fraternizing was...frowned upon.” 

Poe’s pretty sure “frowned upon” means something a little more, but he doesn’t jump in.

Finn continues, “I can’t even imagine managing to date someone back there. But I did have a friend. FN-2036. She was, I think, my only friend. Back there, I mean.”

Poe finishes his wine and picks up the bottle to pour them some more, nodding to show he’s still listening. 

“We both did sanitation and met there. Well, we didn’t have ages—” Poe’s smile tightens. “But I’d say we were around that age, fourteen, fifteen, something like that. And we got the grand idea to meet off-shift.”

“How’d that go?”

“How does sneaking around a First Order base normally go?”

“Fair point.”

Kanel appears with their calamari, effectively putting a pin in the story. It’s as delicious as Poe imagined.

Finn pops a piece in his mouth and says around it, “To cut the story short: we hid on a toilet for twenty-minutes.”

Poe nearly chokes on his bite. “ _ On _ a toilet?”

Finn swallows then laughs. “It was quite the balancing act.”

Poe laughs, delighted. They go back and forth, sharing fun and funny stories over wine and calamari, only quieting to eat their entrees when they come out.

By the time the food’s gone and the wine’s running low, Poe finds the sands of time slipping through his fingers. 

“Dessert?” he offers hopefully, but Finn laughs, holding his stomach.

“I wish, but I can’t eat another bite. Next time, though.”

Poe smiles. Next time. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> I had so much fun writing this fic. It's my first time writing Star Wars stuff, so I'm sorry about all the human food names. I just straight don't know any Star Wars food words. Also, I've never been to Macaroni Grill and I'm pretty sure I made it 90% fancier than it really is.  
> Feel free to critique my characterizations in the comments btw. I would love to know how I can improve w/ that. Thanks for reading!


End file.
